Aphrodite in Greek mythology, the goddess of beauty and love, permeating the whole world. According to one version, the goddess was born from the blood of Uranus, castrated by the titan Kronos: the blood fell into the sea, forming foam. Aphrodite was not only the patroness of love, as reported by Titus Lucretius Car in the poem "On the Nature of Things", but also the goddess of fertility, eternal spring and life. According to the legend, she usually appeared surrounded by her usual companions - nymphs, ores and charites. In myths, Aphrodite was the goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Due to its eastern origin, Aphrodite was often identified with the Phoenician fertility goddess Astarte, the Egyptian Isis and the Assyrian Ishtar.

Despite the fact that the service of the goddess contained a certain shade of sensuality (hetaera called her "their goddess"), over the centuries, the archaic goddess from sexual and licentious turned into a beautiful Aphrodite, who was able to take a place of honor on Olympus. The fact of its possible origin from the blood of Uranus was forgotten.

Seeing the beautiful goddess on Olympus, all the gods fell in love with her, but Aphrodite became the wife of Hephaestus, the most skillful and most ugly of all the gods, although later she gave birth to children from other gods, including Dionysus and Ares. In ancient literature, you can also find references to the fact that Aphrodite was married to Ares, sometimes even the children who were born from this marriage are called: Anteros (hatred), Eros (or Eros), Harmony, Deimos (horror), Phobos (fear).

Perhaps the greatest love of Aphrodite was the beautiful Adonis, the son of the beautiful Mirra, who was turned by the gods into a myrrh tree, giving a beneficial resin - myrrh. Soon Adonis died hunting from a wound inflicted by a wild boar. From the drops of the young man's blood roses blossomed, and from the tears of Aphrodite - anemones. According to another version, the cause of the death of Adonis was the anger of Ares, who was jealous of Aphrodite. Aphrodite was one of three goddesses who argued about their beauty. Having promised Paris, the son of the Trojan king, the most beautiful woman on earth, Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, she won the argument, and the abduction of Helen by Paris caused the start of the Trojan War.
The ancient Greeks believed that Aphrodite provided patronage to the heroes, but her help extended only to the sphere of feelings, as was the case with Paris.

A rudiment of the archaic past of the goddess was her belt, in which, according to legend, love, desire, words of seduction were enclosed. It was this belt that Aphrodite gave to Hera in order to help her divert the attention of Zeus.

Numerous sanctuaries of the goddess were located in many areas of Greece - in Corinth, Messenia, Cyprus and Sicily. In ancient Rome, Aphrodite was identified with Venus and was considered the progenitor of the Romans thanks to her son Aeneas, the ancestor of the Julius family, to which, according to legend, Julius Caesar also belonged.

One of the twelve great Olympian gods. She was the most beautiful of the goddesses. Poets sang of the golden color of her hair and shining eyes, the beauty of her face and body, the softest delicate skin, beautiful breasts.

Aphrodite was born, according to Hesiod's Theogony, near the island of Cythera from the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed snow-white foam (in Greek - afros, hence the nickname "foam-born"). The wind brought her to the island of Cyprus, where the goddess, who emerged from the sea waves, met Ora.

Aphrodite arose near Cyprus naked from an airy sea shell - hence her nickname "Cyprida". Ores in golden diadems crowned her with a golden crown. The image of Aphrodite emerging from the sea foam is captured on Botticelli's immortal canvas "The Birth of Venus". This is Hesiod's version.

She is ruthless to those who reject love.

Aphrodite was not only the patroness of love, but also the goddess of fertility, eternal spring and life. In myths, Aphrodite was the goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Struck by her beauty, many of the Greek gods vied as contenders for her hand and heart. She chose Hephaestus, the lame god of fire and blacksmithing. Aphrodite and Hephaestus had no children. Their marriage may represent the union of beauty and craftsmanship from which art is born. Hephaestus worked in his forge, and Aphrodite, basking in the bedchamber, combed her curls with a golden comb and received guests - Hera and Athena. She often cheated on Hephaestus.

Aphrodite with pleasure inspired love feelings in gods and people and fell in love herself.

An indispensable attribute of the goddess's attire was her famous belt, in which love, words of seduction, desire were enclosed; he made anyone in love with his mistress. The death of her beloved Adonis, a passionate hunter, brought great grief to Aphrodite. He dies from the fangs of a boar sent by a jealous Ares.

Hephaestus found out about her connection with Ares and was very angry. The jealous husband forged a thin, like a cobweb, but surprisingly strong golden net, which, lowering from the ceiling, attached it imperceptibly to the foot of the bed, and then announced to his wife that he was going to rest for a while on his beloved island of Lemnos. As soon as her husband left, Aphrodite sent for Ares, who immediately appeared. In the morning, the lovers found themselves lying entangled in a net - naked and helpless. Hephaestus appeared along with the other gods invited by him to stare and laugh (the goddesses remained at home out of delicacy). Only thanks to Poseidon Ares got freedom. Aphrodite returned to Cyprus, where, having bathed in the sea, she regained her virginity.

Aphrodite and Ares had three children: a daughter, Harmonia, and two sons, Deimos (terror) and Phobos (fear), who accompanied their father in battles along with the goddesses Eris and Enyo. Aphrodite and Ares represent the union of two of the least controlled passions - love and war, which, being in perfect balance, could create harmony.

Aphrodite's lover was Adonis.

The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis

(Ovid. Metamorphoses. X, 529–739)

Retelling by Georg Stoll

Aphrodite loved no one so much as the wonderfully beautiful Adonis, the son of the Syrian king. Paphos, Knidos and the metal-bearing Amaphunt, where the goddess so willingly used to be, are forgotten by her; for Adonis she forgot the sky itself.

She didn’t dress up and didn’t undead herself, as before: picking up clothes to her knees, she wanders with a young man through the mountains, forests and rocks overgrown with thorny plants; with dogs she pursues fallow deer, hares and other non-dangerous animals, but she avoids a powerful boar, bear and wolf and advises Adonis to stay away from these animals.

“Oh my dear! It is good to be brave before those who run; courage is dangerous. Do not be recklessly brave: do not attack the beast to which nature has given a dangerous weapon. Neither a lion nor a bristly boar will regret, as I would regret, neither your youth nor your beauty. Beware of them: your courage can be dangerous to me and you. So the goddess spoke - and more than once - and the young man followed her advice while the goddess was with him.

But once, in Cyprus, moving away from her for a while, Adonis forgot about her advice. The dogs drove him out of the thicket into a clearing of a terrible boar, and Adonis threw his hunting dart at him. The wounded, furious boar turned around and rushed at the young man; did not save the unfortunate flight. With its fangs, the boar inflicted such a wound on him that he instantly fell, expiring, to the ground. From afar, Aphrodite heard the moans of a dying man and, in a chariot drawn by swans, hurried to the place where the misfortune happened. Seeing the murdered young man, she quickly descends from the chariot, tears her clothes, torments her chest and sobs bitterly. But cries do not resurrect the dead.

So that the memory of the young man would not completely perish, Aphrodite mixed his blood with the divine nectar and turned it into a flower red like blood. Briefly, like the life of a young man, the time of its flowering, the wind soon blows away its rapidly fading leaves, and therefore they called it anemone, anemone.

Aphrodite through the eyes of artists

Venus with a mirror Painting by D. Velasquez, 1657, London, National Gallery

Adolphe William Bouguereau "Aphrodite"

Artist Eugene-Emmanuel Amaury-Duval. Aphrodite.

D.Engre. Birth of Venus

She is Venus translated from other Greek. interpreted as - "foam". In Greek mythology, the Goddess Aphrodite was considered the goddess of beauty and love. She is also responsible for the fertility and eternity of spring or life on Earth. Aphrodite is the goddess of marriage and childbirth, as well as "feeding children." Gods and men obeyed her great power of love; Athena, Artemis and Hestia were beyond her control. The goddess Aphrodite was always ruthless to those who rejected her love. She was the wife of Hephaestus or Ares.

Attributes of Aphrodite

The attributes of Aphrodite, as the goddess of love, were roses, poppies, myrtle, and apple, as well as violets, daffodils, anemones, and lilies. She, as the goddess of fertility, was served by the following attributes: sparrows and doves, which made up her retinue. Like a sea goddess, it was a dolphin. The same attributes of Aphrodite were - a golden cup filled with wine, having drunk from which, a person receives eternal youth and a belt.

She was very often accompanied by wild animals, for example: wolves, lions, bears, whom she pacified with the help of her love desire.

The birth of Aphrodite

The most legendary birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite is the city of Paphos on the island of Cyprus.

Many different versions and legends about the origin goddess Aphrodite. In Homer, she was the daughter of Zeus and the oceanides Dione.

Based on the "Theogony" of Hesiod, she was born near the island of Cythera, emerging from the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed a snow-white foam. From this giving, the goddess Artemis received her nickname "foam-born." Then, a breeze brought her to the island of Cyprus.

The classical goddess Aphrodite was born naked from an airy sea shell near the island of Cyprus - hence her other nickname "Cyprida" - and on this very shell she reached the shore. After, Ores in golden diadems crowned her head with a golden crown, and adorned her with a golden necklace and golden earrings, at the same time, the gods could not stop admiring her and were inflamed with the desire to take her as their wife.

Myths associated with the goddess Aphrodite

In one of the myths, the wife of the Thunderer, Hera arranged everything so that the goddess Aphrodite married Hephaestus. He was the most skillful master among all the gods, but at the same time the most ugly of them. Lame-footed Hephaestus worked in his forge, and Aphrodite, basking in her bedchamber, combed her curls with a golden comb and received guests - Hera and Athena. Aphrodite's love was molested by Hermes, Poseidon, Ares, and other gods.

The goddess Aphrodite with great pleasure inspired love feelings in gods and people, and she herself often fell in love, cheating on her crippled spouse. An indispensable attribute in her outfits was the famous belt, which contained the power of love, desire and words of seduction. This belt made anyone in love with his mistress. She loved to use this attribute, having borrowed from Aphrodite, Hera, when she wanted to once again kindle the passion of love for her in Zeus and thereby weaken his will.

And, of course, the goddess, who gives people love, could not help but have a passionate love affair. It was Adonis, a mortal earthly youth, who became the main character in the legend of Aphrodite's immortal love...

The world through the eyes of Aphrodite

According to legend, the most beautiful Aphrodite was born from the snow-white sea foam near the island of Cyprus. It was for this that she was nicknamed "foam-born" and Cyprida. The immortal goddess of love, eternal spring and life reigned over the whole world, and neither people nor gods could escape her power. Only the goddesses Hestia, Athena and Artemis were not subject to her.

Unlike other goddesses who did not choose their spouses or lovers (Persephone was abducted, Hera was seduced, Demeter was raped), Aphrodite was free in her choice. She chose Hephaestus, the lame god of fire and blacksmithing. Thus, Hera's outcast son becomes Aphrodite's husband and will often be deceived by her. The goddess repeatedly cheated on him with the violent, unbridled Ares - the god of war.

Aphrodite was surrounded everywhere by nymphs and charites, flocks of birds flocked to her and wild animals ran to her. To those who revered her, the goddess gave the happiness of love. And those who rejected love, she punished.

So she punished the beautiful Mirra, the mother of that same Adonis ...

For disrespect, Aphrodite was angry at the impudent girl and turned her into a myrrh tree. And since Mirra was in the process of demolition, Adonis, a child of amazing beauty, was born already from a cracked tree trunk.

Aphrodite put the baby in a casket and gave it to Persephone, the mistress of the underworld, to be raised. Adonis grew up as a strong young man, whose beauty was unmatched either among mortals or among the gods. Both goddesses - both Persephone and Aphrodite - fell in love with him, but when Aphrodite demanded that Adonis be returned to her, Persephone did not want to part with her beautiful lover.

A fierce dispute began between the goddesses. But Adonis preferred Aphrodite to Persephone.

Love and death

For the sake of Adonis, Aphrodite forgot about everything - both her beauty and the bright Olympus. For days on end they hunted together in the forest, and the goddess rarely left the young man. But their happiness did not last long...

Persephone, indignant with jealousy, went to Ares and told him that his beloved was spending time with a mere mortal! Ares in a rage rushed to the mountains of Lebanon, where Adonis was hunting at that time, and turned into a wild boar. The dogs of Adonis attacked the trail of this huge boar, and the young man was already rejoicing in rich prey. Noticing a boar among the bushes, he raised his spear to slay the beast, but the boar rushed at him and mortally wounded him with his terrible fangs.

Having learned the sad news, Aphrodite rushed to look for her beloved. Through gloomy gorges, along steep mountain paths, she rushed, mad with grief, and sharp stones and thorns of thorns wounded her tender legs. And where drops of blood fell, roses rose as red as blood. Finally the goddess found Adonis. He lay on the grass, covered in blood. Aphrodite wept bitterly over the body of a beautiful young man and turned drops of his blood into anemones so that the memory of her lover would remain forever.

The soul of Adonis went to the realm of the dead, but Zeus took pity on Aphrodite and ordered Hades and Persephone to release Adonis to earth every year. Since then, he spends half a year in the kingdom of shadows, and half a year - on earth with Aphrodite. And when the young beautiful Adonis returns to the goddess of love, spring comes on earth, all nature rejoices.

Holidays in honor of Adonis

The myth of Adonis is one of the widespread ideas in many ancient religions about a dead and resurrected deity. The cult of Adonis existed in Phenicia, Syria, Egypt, on the islands of Cyprus and Lesbos.

According to Lucian, in Byblos there was a sanctuary of Aphrodite, where orgies in honor of Adonis took place, accompanied by sacred prostitution, the first day being devoted to mourning, and the second to joy for the resurrected Adonis. It also tells of the Adonis River, which turns red every year when, according to legend, Adonis dies in the mountains of Lebanon. However, there are also skeptical arguments about the red soil that gives the river a bloody color.

In the 5th century BC e. the cult of Adonis spread to mainland Greece. In Argos, women mourned Adonis in a special building. In Athens, during the feast in honor of Adonis, images of the dead were exhibited everywhere, accompanied by lamentations and funeral songs. In late spring and early autumn, women planted quickly blooming and just as quickly fading greenery in pots, the so-called "gardens of Adonis" - a symbol of the transience of life. After an eight-day period, they, along with the images of the deceased Adonis, were taken out and thrown into the sea or into a stream.

In Alexandria, the sacred marriage of Aphrodite and young Adonis was magnificently celebrated, and the next day, with lamentation and weeping, the statue of Adonis was carried to the sea and immersed in water, symbolizing his return to the kingdom of death.

Inspiration in creativity

In art, Adonis was depicted as a young man of outstanding beauty, usually next to Aphrodite, and sometimes wounded or dying. The myth of the love of Adonis and Aphrodite was often addressed by artists of the Renaissance (Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese), modern times (Poussin, Canova, Thorvaldsen) and writers (Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, La Fontaine).

Many frescoes and paintings have been preserved depicting the gathering of Adonis for hunting. Titian in his painting gave Adonis the facial features of Philip II, for whom it was painted. The work was created in 1554, when the king came to London to marry the English Queen Mary I. And although the plot of the picture is not related to the wedding theme, she indulged the king's weaknesses, as he liked to contemplate the nude.

Titian called this picture poetry - the plot was drawn by him from myth, but embellished, as poets like to do. The artist depicted the climactic moment when Venus embraces Adonis, not wanting to let him go. But the young man is indifferent to her passion, because at dawn he will go hunting, which will lead to a tragic ending. Nearby lies a sleeping Cupid, and the rays of the setting sun illuminate the passing day.

Rubens almost interpreted this mythological plot in the same way, but in his picture Cupid is trying to keep the beautiful hunter Adonis.

Among the sculptures on this topic, the most famous is the "Death of Adonis", located in the Hermitage. It was made of marble by Giuseppe Mazzuola in 1700-1709. The young man is depicted at the moment before the fall, after a strong blow from the beast. The complex pose of Adonis and the cloak convey the dynamics of the moment, while the processing of the material - from the rough surface to polishing - enhances the decorative effect of the sculpture.

The legend of Adonis and Aphrodite has inspired many. And until now, looking at the canvases depicting this mythical plot, you feel an involuntary admiration. This love is similar to the story of Romeo and Juliet, but with a more positive and rather alternative ending.

Aphrodite(among the Romans Venus) - was the most beautiful of the goddesses.

Poets of all times have sung about the beauty of her face and body, the golden color of her hair, her radiant eyes and dazzling skin.

There are two versions of the origin Aphrodite. According to the first version (Homer) Aphrodite born from the love of Zeus and a sea nymph Dion.
Reversion (Hesiod) Aphrodite emerged as a result of violence. Insidious Kronos took a sickle, cut off his father's reproductive organs uranium and threw them into the sea. They were covered with snow-white foam, from which was born Aphrodite, appearing in from the sea waves as a completely adult goddess. Seeing how beautiful the maiden was, the graceful horns threw an imperishable robe over her beautiful body, adorned her wonderful golden hair with a skillful golden diadem, inserted pearl earrings into her ears, wrapped a golden necklace around her graceful neck and led her to Olympus to the immortal gods.

All the celestials bowed before the charming beauty Aphrodite, and only three were indifferent: Athena whose heart was given to war and crafts, Artemis, who loves hunting for wild animals and round dances, and the modest goddess of the hearth Hestia.

Many gods of Olympus, captivated by her beauty, competed among themselves for her hand and heart. But unpredictable Aphrodite chose Hephaestus as her husband - the most skilled craftsman and the most ugly among the gods. The limping Hephaestus worked at the anvils in his forge and found true satisfaction in working with a hammer at a flaming forge, while Aphrodite basked in the bedchamber, combed her curls with a golden comb and received guests - Heru And Athena. She also took lovers from time to time.

Poseidon also sought Aphrodite's love, which is quite natural - after all, she was born in his element. Aphrodite she was always free in her choice, unlike other goddesses (some were kidnapped, some of them were deceived, and some were simply taken by force). And she chose her lovers herself.

long time Aphrodite kept in touch with Ares, the god of war, from whom she had several children - Eros and Anteroth, as well as Deimos, Phobos ("fear" and "horror" are the satellites of Ares) and daughter Harmony. Initially Eros- cosmic deity Chaos, in Olympic mythology he became the son Aphrodite. Subsequently Eros turns out to be much stronger than his mother, and becomes her constant companion, a winged boy armed with a bow and arrows that inspire love.

Her other lover was Hermes- the messenger of the gods. son Aphrodite And Hermes was Hermaphrodite- a bisexual god who inherited the beauty of both of them, bore both of their names and possessed the sexual characteristics of both.

Like other Olympian gods, Aphrodite patronizes heroes, but this patronage extends only to the sphere of love. She promises Paris the love of Helen and fulfills her promise, though at the cost of war.

Aphrodite trying to interfere in military events under Troy, being a principled protector of the Trojans. She saves Paris during his duel with Menelaus. She intervenes in the battle in which Diomedes performs his exploits, and tries to bring the Trojan hero Aeneas out of the battle - her son from her beloved Anchises. But Diomedes pursues the goddess and wounds her in the arm, so that Aeneas catches Apollo, covering it with a black cloud.

Aphrodite delivers on Olympus Ares in his golden chariot. Hera and Athena - her constant opponents raise Aphrodite for laughs and Zeus, smiling, advises his daughter not to engage in war, but to arrange marriages.

And among mortals no one could resist Aphrodite. Wandering alone, at random, people united in families, because until there was Aphrodite, there was no love and affection for each other. Aphrodite with pleasure inspires love feelings in people, but she herself falls in love too.

Aphrodite helps all whose love is strong and constant. So she helped Pygmalion, who passionately fell in love with the statue of a girl. But helping those who love Aphrodite and persecutes those who reject love (she punished Hippolytus and Narcissus with death, inspired unnatural love for Pasiphae and Myrrha, and endowed Hypsipyla and Lemnos women with a disgusting smell).

Numerous sanctuaries Aphrodite available in many areas Greece(Corinth, Boeotia, Messinia, Achaia, Sparta), on the islands - Cyprus(in the city of Paphos, where the temple was located, which had a general Greek significance, hence the nickname of Aphrodite - the Paphos goddess), Cythera, Crete, Sicily from Mount Eriks - the nickname of Erikinia). Especially revered Aphrodite in Asia Minor (in Ephesus, Abydos), in Syria .

IN Rome Aphrodite was revered under the name Venus and was considered the progenitor of the Romans through her son - the Trojan Aeneas, father of Yul - the legendary ancestor of the Julius clan, to which he belonged Julius Caesar.